History of the villages of the Leuk district (Valais)
The 26 documented localities of the Leuk district, in the canton of Valais. Each page covers the origin of the name, the main stages of its history and its remains, with sources.
Towns and villages 19
Agarn
In the 13th and 14th centuries this street village on an alluvial fan was a sust, a stopover for Simplon traffic.
VSAlbinen
Mountain village above the Dala, linked to Leukerbad by ladders that are only for walkers with a head for heights.
VSBratsch
Under the statute of 1672 the small hamlet of Änggersch held the same rank in the commune as the village of Bratsch. It lost it in the 19th century.
VSErgisch
A village at 1'090 metres, recorded in 1203 as « Mons de Argessa », said to mean « white or silver rock » after the pale rock on which it stands.
VSErschmatt
A village at 1'230 metres whose Zelg terraces, between 1'200 and 1'500 metres, grew rye under a two-field system until the 1960s.
VSFeschel
A village in the Leuk district inhabited since the 5th century, where 6th-century graves and bronze objects have been found. Since 2000 it has formed the municipality of Guttet-Feschel with Guttet.
VSGampel
At the mouth of the Lötschental, Gampel saw the birth in 1897 of the hydroelectric plant from which Lonza grew. The village has been part of Gampel-Bratsch since 2009.
VSGruben
In 1860 the co-owners of the Gruben alp built the « Hotel Schwarzhorn » here, the first inn of the Turtmanntal. The settlement now belongs to the municipality of Turtmann-Unterems.
VSGuttet
A mountain village at 1'345 m above Leuk, Guttet adopted communal statutes as early as 1520 and merged with Feschel in 2000 to form Guttet-Feschel.
VSInden
Small village on a terrace along the road to Leukerbad and the Gemmi pass, recorded from 1242, with its St Anthony chapel of around 1500 and its church of 1767.
VSJeizinen
Burnt down in 1793, the hamlet of Jeizinen, in the municipality of Gampel-Bratsch (former municipality of Gampel), has been linked to the valley by cable car since 1960.
VSLeuk
Once a royal estate of the Burgundian king Sigismund, given to the Abbey of Saint-Maurice and later passed to the bishop of Sion, Leuk became a small town of burgher houses between the Dala and Feschel gorges.
VSLeukerbad
Some twenty hot springs, including the St Lawrence spring at 51 °C: at the foot of the Gemmi rock face, the baths were famous throughout the Confederation by the end of the 15th century.
VSOberems
Owner of half of the Turtmanntal, Oberems only got its own church in 1951. That of the parish of Ems, formed in 1728, stood in Unterems.
VSSalgesch
The westernmost German-speaking village in Valais, facing the Pfyn forest, once the seat of a hospital of the Knights of St John and now a wine village.
VSSusten
Susten (La Souste), a valley-floor village in the municipality of Leuk, is named after the sust, the goods warehouse that stood by the Rhône bridge in the early 14th century.
VSTurtmann
At the mouth of the Turtmanntal, Turtmann lived until late in the 20th century from livestock, vineyards and horse breeding. A military airfield operated here until 2003.
VSUnterems
Allied with Turtmann from 1479, Unterems bore a fifth of the shared burdens and offices in 1501. The two municipalities merged in 2013.
VSVaren
Wine village whose community gradually acquired its land and alpine pastures and, in 1382, the estates the bishop of Sion held there.
Sites 7
Aérodrome militaire de Turtmann
A cavern air base in service from 1942 to 2003, the Turtmann airfield still had its original underground installations in 2008, probably the last ones in that state.
VS · SiteGemmi Pass
Above Leukerbad, the Gemmi Pass path climbs the Daubenwand, a 600 m rock wall, and links the Valais with the Bernese Oberland.
VS · SiteHohe Brücke
Recorded since 1563, the Hohe Brücke arch bridge spans the Feschelbach gorge near Erschmatt, in the municipality of Leuk (former municipality of Erschmatt).
VS · SiteHôpital de Saint-Jean
Founded in the 13th century by the Knights of Saint John at Salgesch, the hospital had authority over the Simplon hospice. Only a tower survives, next to the presbytery.
VS · SitePfyn
The Pfynwald (Finges forest), one of the largest pine forests in Central Europe, marks the language border and largely belongs to the municipality of Leuk. In 1799 the Upper Valais forces were defeated here.
VS · SiteTour de la Dala
Guarding the Dala bridge since the 13th century, the tower saw its drawbridge replaced by a stone bridge in 1791 and was restored in 1927.
VS · SiteTurtmanntal
Disputed between Turtmann and Oberems from 1612, this valley of alpine pastures was only divided equally between the two municipalities in 2002.